Accompanied by the panicked footsteps, people kept rushing forward from the back of the subway carriage, like a group of monkeys with their backs on fire.
However, the moving subway carriage was sealed, leaving no room for escape.
Soon, a mass of white mist rushed in from the end of the tunnel at an extremely fast speed, engulfing the entire carriage.
People were trapped in the mist, unable to see their hands in front of their faces, only able to hear the thumping of their own heartbeats.
The system’s voice rang out.
[Newbie Mission: Dispel the small-scale mist in Subway Line 1.]
[Mission Reward: Newbie Starter Pack.]
Shen Jie didn’t move.
He sat in his seat, watching the music game on his phone stop offline, with the combo stopping at 66666, sighing regretfully.
The system was puzzled: “[Why aren’t you moving, Host? You’re facing mist! It’s mist, you know!]
Shen Jie was equally puzzled and asked back, “Why should I move?”
He closed the game, switched back to the local playback of the music app, and said, “According to statistics, the average time for the City Defense Bureau to arrive and resolve low-level mist disasters that occur within the city is ten minutes, and it won’t exceed fifteen minutes at most. The best way for ordinary people to deal with mist is to wait for rescue in place.”
Mist Catastrophe.
This is the name given by humans to the sudden apocalypse that befell them.
In the year 2044 AD, the first recorded Mist Catastrophe occurred in Country M, leading to the fall of the most populous city in the country. The world was shocked. Because the mist could not be dispelled for a long time and the infection continued to spread, three years later, country M had to resort to nuclear weapons. The once shining city in human history turned to dust. However, everything did not end there, but rather, it was just the beginning. For over thirty years, the mist had continued to descend, with two-thirds of the world becoming Fallen Areas, covered in mist, and overrun by the aliens. The global population had plummeted by three-quarters, and survivors gather in bases, struggling to reproduce and survive. According to the appearance and color of the mist, the danger level of the catastrophe was divided from F to SSS, corresponding to mist colors: white, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. The emergence of an A-level mist catastrophe can instantly cause a city with a population of tens of thousands to fall, becoming a breeding nest for a certain type of alien, and continuously spreading infection outward. The city where Shen Jie was located was called “Eden” by the survivors.
This was because this city had never fallen since its construction and still maintained a high level of order and civilization.
For the residents living in “Eden,” waiting for rescue in place was indeed considered a good option.
The system remained silent for a moment before saying, [Host, if you carefully read the contents of the novel, you would know that the City Defense Bureau is not trustworthy. Moreover, the perception of time inside the mist is different from the outside world. What might be ten minutes outside could turn into an hour here, and within an hour, the aliens could tear everyone in the carriage into pieces.]
Shen Jie remained noncommittal.
Ding, ding, ding…
Suddenly, the phones of the people in the carriage started buzzing with message notifications.
Shen Jie opened the communication app.
At the top was still “capable partner,” but a strange group chat had appeared in the second row.
The group chat was named “Happy Workers,” and the number of people in the group was rapidly increasing. Half a minute later, this number stopped at a blood-red 1444.
The damp and cold mist wafted through the carriage. A eerie atmosphere pervaded.
Shen Jie stared at the group chat that appeared on his phone and sighed softly.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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—
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Ktf wfwyfgr bo atf Cylilas Sgjvlmjalbc Kfjw “Gjkc” kfgf gfralcu jcv gfmeqfgjalcu bc atf qijcf.
The syringe-like potion was injected into the arm, while the white scales covering it still moved and fluctuated as if they had a mind of their own. Strange and twisted bone spurs protruded from the gaps, intertwining like blood vessels on the arm.
The doctor looked at the infection value detector in his hand and sighed, “Your condition doesn’t look too good.”
He waved to the nurse beside him, “Increase the dosage.”
The nurse, upon hearing this, brought a new vial of medicine and filled the syringe, adjusting the injection rate.
“How much longer until we arrive?” asked the man receiving the injection.
“The plane is expected to arrive in the city in 1 hour and 32 minutes,” the doctor said, “but if the infection value doesn’t stabilize, your current condition won’t allow you entry into the city.”
“We can’t use more suppressants. You’ll have to handle the rest on your own.”
The man fell silent, gazing out of the porthole at the clouds.
The area of transformation had spread to his shoulders, with eerie bone spurs stacking up like flowers forcibly blooming from flesh.
The doctor tried to maintain a calm facade, but in reality, he nervously watched the infection value detector.
94, 94.5, 95…
“Doctor, don’t be so tense, relax a little,” a member of the cleansing team beside him smiled, “It’s not the first time the captain’s infection value has exceeded 90. The previous team doctor even said he wouldn’t last three years, but it’s been seven years now, and he’s still fine.”
The doctor nodded reluctantly, thinking to himself, how could he not worry?
For someone as strong as Zong Lin, once their infection value crossed the threshold of corruption, everyone on the plane would suffer.
Not only this aircraft, but also nearby cities, humans, and all living beings would all be unable to escape disaster.
The last dose of suppressant was injected into his arm, yet Zong Lin’s signs of mutation showed no obvious reduction.
At that moment, the doctor saw Zong Lin reach into the inner pocket of his combat suit and take something out. He used his mutated and distorted hand. Zong Lin held the object, and there was a slight tremor in his arm. The doctor thought, “For Zong Lin, this must be quite a challenge, after all, controlling a mutated limb is difficult; it’s easy to crush something, whether it’s a hard metal or a fragile human body.”
But Zong Lin managed to control it. He seemed to have a lot of experience in this regard, enough to ignore the pain, avoid the spikes, use his still somewhat soft fingertips to grasp the object, and then bring it to his lips, lowering his head to give it a kiss.
The doctor was stunned.
He had seen scenes of Zong Lin piercing the hearts of aliens with a spear, and witnessed his indifferent and ferocious demeanor in battle, but he had never seen him show an expression almost worthy of being called “gentle” like he did now, feeling somewhat incredulous.
He noticed that what Zong Lin was holding and kissing was a very exquisite and beautiful silver pocket watch.
Exquisite and beautiful to the point that it didn’t seem like something Zong Lin would normally use.
Intricate patterns were engraved in winding lines, long delicate chains winding around the mutated wrist, reflecting the floating light.
The thin pale lips of the man left an imprint on the silver pocket watch, his stern face remained expressionless, but the doctor faintly felt a sense of confusion, violence, and dirtiness slowly subsiding.
Like a beast locking itself in a cage with its own hands.
The plane flew over snow-covered mountains, and at the end of the desolate land, a distant hint of greenery gradually emerged.
Zong Lin’s infection value began to decline from nearly 96, 95, 94… all the way down to 88. Finally, it barely stabilized within the safe range.
If it weren’t for the fact that a group of members of the cleansing team were resting in the plane, the doctor would have wanted to shout out a medical miracle!
Normally, a superpower user would basically be sentenced to death if he had an infection value exceeding 95. He never thought Zong Lin could pull through successfully.
The surrounding members of the cleansing team, however, seemed to be accustomed to this.
During the tense moment just now, two team members were even slouching in their seats sleeping.
The doctor stood there for a moment, showing a sincere smile. “The infection value has stabilized, congratulations. You can safely return to your city and receive everyone’s welcome.”
He thought that the airport must be crowded with welcoming crowds at this moment, and the vast majority of them were probably Zong Lin’s admirers.
In this unstable era, a sufficiently powerful person would always be adored by countless people.
“Unfortunately, those people will be disappointed again. The captain will definitely slip away quietly this time.” A member of the cleansing team beside him laughed. “After all, his wife is waiting for him at home to have dinner.”
The doctor was curious. He had heard about it, that Zong Lin had an ordinary human partner. But as for the name, identity, appearance, and so on of that ordinary person, he knew nothing.
Zong Lin protected him very well.
But that didn’t stop the outside world from speculating.
After all, the combination of superpower users and ordinary humans was not usually well-received by the public.
On the one hand, there was a significant difference in physique and strength between the two. Especially for high-level superpower users, they often had some abnormalities that ordinary humans found difficult to accept. With just a slight force, they could easily bruise or even fracture ordinary humans, making it inconvenient to interact with them.
On the other hand, the research institute encouraged marriages between superpower users. According to statistics, the chances of having a superpower offspring were more than ten times higher when both parents are superpower compared to when one parent was an ordinary human.
This was an era that needed heroes. Superpower users were the driving force behind the continuation of the human era.
And most ordinary people could only exist as lubricants between gears, or even just as dust hidden in the gaps.
The doctor was a superpower user, but he grew up in a city with a stable order, and he initially did not agree with this radical view. It wasn’t until he joined the team and ventured into the wilderness, crossing the city walls, that he changed his perspective.
Zong Lin was too powerful, and also too dangerous. To be his partner, it was best to be a sufficiently powerful user—not only tough enough but also flexible enough to serve as a good scabbard, wrapping around this excessively aggressive blade.
However, rumor said that Zong Lin’s partner was not only an ordinary person but also a fragile canary, pampered and delicate, merely a beautiful vase.
To take care of him, Zong Lin endured a lot of hardship.
The word “endure” was used quite aptly.
After all, while the superpower users wielded power, they also endured throughout their lives, enduring the intrusion of the mist, enduring the torment of mutation. If they had to endure in various aspects of life as well, it was hard to imagine the mental state of such a person.
Zong Lin’s mental state was both good and not so good.His infection level was 88, which was already quite high.
Any higher, and the city won’t be able to accommodate him anymore.
The doctor thought with a somewhat complex expression. He didn’t want the city to lose this powerful guardian, so he carefully suggested, “Do you usually go to the mental relaxation center? I know a few therapists who are very effective. I can introduce them to you.”
“Stop, stop, don’t bother. The captain never goes to those places.” A nearby team member interjected, “I didn’t expect you, Doctor, to look so serious and yet know several therapists? Isn’t your partner upset?”
“Huh?” The doctor realized belatedly, and his face slowly turned red. “…It’s just for mental relaxation therapy, why would she be upset?”
He whispered, “One of them was actually introduced to me by her.”
The team member clicked their tongue twice but didn’t say anything more.
Zong Lin had carefully put away the pocket watch, placing it in the pocket close to his heart. He glanced sideways out the window, watching as the silhouette of the city at the end of his line of sight gradually approached.
The faint ticking of the mechanical clock resonated through the metal casing and his heart, as he counted silently in his mind.
After counting 5402 times, he would return to the city.
Back to his gentle haven.
The evening sun was beautiful, and he thought for a moment before taking a picture and sending it.
Ten minutes later, a team member sitting nearby suddenly noticed a drop in their captain’s aura.
Low-rank ability users were always sensitive to the aura of high-rank ability users. It was like antelopes sensing cheetahs or house cats sensing lions.
“Captain?” he rubbed the goosebumps on his arm, puzzled.
Zong Lin looked down at his still dark phone and said heavily, “He didn’t reply to my message.”
The team member knew exactly who Zong Lin was referring to when he said ‘he’ and smiled, “Everyone gets busy sometimes. Captain, don’t you also ignore your phone when you’re busy?”
Zong Lin replied, “That’s different.”
The team member pondered for a moment and said, “Indeed, usually, we have no signal in the mist, which is an objective reason we can’t change. But sometimes, we need to consider subjective factors as well. Maybe he overlooked it because he was too busy working overtime?”
“He finished work,” Zong Lin said. “He just told me we’re having lamb hotpot and scrambled eggs with leeks tonight.”
This was the longest sentence Zong Lin had uttered today.
The doctor, listening intently, accidentally choked on his saliva and started coughing frantically.
This nourishing menu… Was Zong Lin’s partner serious? What about the delicate canary they talked about?
The team member rubbed his chin thoughtfully and proposed a possibility, “Or perhaps he’s at the supermarket buying groceries and didn’t check his phone.”
He wanted to pat Zong Lin on the shoulder, but retracting after seeing the bone spurs there, he instead rubbed his own shiny bald head and laughed, “Don’t worry, Captain, your wife is in the city, what could possibly happen?”
“What could possibly happen?” FAMOUS LAST WORDS…
They just triggered the worst that could happen 🤣
“What could possibly happen” are the worst things a person can say in a novel
Lmfao we all know this phrase too well-
I love how everyone is just thinking these two cool- totally not gay dudes to be each other’s wives 😂😂😂
Man, imagine being a color blind person in this apocalypse; thinking, “Oh, it’s just pink mist, all good!” And then the green mist is like “b*tch you thought” 😂
Thank you for the chapter, this is a lovely translation!!!
😂😂😂. That’s so funny to imagine
I just want to add my own little comment, but for anybody who may be confused as to why they still think Zong Lin has a ‘wife’ despite using he/him pronouns, it’s bcuz in Chinese they sound the same but are written differently ^^
“what could happen” sounds so ominous
That’s a taboo sentence in an apocalyptic world..
Thanks for the chapter!!
well about that…